Jaguar C-Type Continuation Honors 70th Anniversary of Le Mans Winning Racer
To honor the legacy of one of its most legendary racers, Jaguars has announced a limited run of new C-Type coupes.
The Jaguar C-Type is one of Coventry’s most legendary race cars. The sleek, purpose-built machine was designed for victory at the track, and it excelled at competition. In 1951, it won the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans race on its very first attempt, and backed up that success with a one-two finish in 1953. So to celebrate the 70th anniversary of this incredible machine, Jaguar has just announced a limited run of C-Type continuation cars, and they look predictably fantastic.
Each new C-Type will be built to the same spec as the 1953 racer which dominated in France. That means it’ll be packing a 3.4-liter straight-six fed by a hat trick of Weber carburetors, which is good for 220 horsepower. No transmission is specified in the press kit, but since the C-Type shared much of its mechanical bits with the XK120, we can likely expect that we’ll see a four-speed manual unit. That said, it might be neat if Jaguar upgraded to a five-speed box, like this one from Moss Motors, which also provides drivers with a synchronized first gear.
One of the notable advancements pioneered by the C-Type were disc brakes, which gave them a crucial advantage on the track. Of course, this technology made its way to the road cars not long afterward. The awesome documentary The Racers Who Stopped the World, tells the story of how Jaguar royalty like Sir Stirling Moss and Norman Dewis helped adapt the aircraft technology to automobile, and if you’re interested in Jaguar history it’s a must-watch.
One of the best quotes in the flick actually belongs to former Formula 1 driver Martin Bundle, who said the disc brake changed the brake pedal from “something that actually wanted to do its job, instead of a nice place to rest your foot while you had an accident.”
To produce new versions of the C-Type, Jaguar employed both historical records along with new 3D computer-aided drafting technology. And to make sure that the cars perform as good as they look, the company spent 1,000 miles doing high-speed testing. That means these cars are likely better screwed together machines than anything which came out of England during the reign of King George the VI. Hopefully, that means many of them will see some actual track time, because it would be a shame to subject a thoroughbreds like these to a lives of leisure.
In the official announcement, Jaguar didn’t say how many C-Type Continuation cars will be produced. But since the company only build 43 during the initial production run, I can’t imagine they’ll go over that number, which will make them exceptionally rare. As you’d expect, the price falls somewhere in “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” territory. If you’re really curious — or just enjoy configuring cars that you could never possibly afford — make sure to check out the online configurator, where you can select from 12 different interior colors and eight different interior options.
The C-Type Continuation will make its public debut at the annual Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace in England, which runs from September 3rd to the 5th, so if you’re headed to the event, make sure to check it out — and send me a couple of pictures!
Photos: Jaguar